Knitting machine needle motion



July 24, 1951 R. s. E. HANNAY v KNITTING MACHINE NEEDLE MOTION 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 21, 1948 I d QN' W a.

A l! arry July 24, 1951 R s, E, HA'NNAY 2,562,034

KNITTING MACHINE NEEDLE MOTION Filed Feb. 21, 1948 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 i 5 I 31' u 128 HMIIIIHHII July 24, 1951 R. s. E. HANNAY I 2,562,034

KNITTING MACHINE NEEDLE MOTION Filed Feb. 21, 1948 s Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented July 24, 1 951 KNITTING MACHINE NEEDLE MOTION Robert Stewart. Erskine Hannay, Edinburgh,

Scotland, assignor to F. N. F. Limited, Burtonw on-Trent, England Application FebruaryZl, 1948,Serial No. 10,160

' In Great Britain June 3,1942

.This invention relatesto warp knitting machines.

-In warp knitting machines as nowcommonly used the knittingneedles advance and withdraw...

endwise, themotion being "rectilinear or nearly so. The warp threads .are lapped round the hooks of the needles,'iwhen-advanced, by warp thread. guides which are. given a 'to-and-froscams." 66-86) swinging motion and a so-called shogging mo.-.

tion; that is to say, a. motion lengthwise of a zone extending transverse to the mechanism and accommodating one or more rows of the warp thread. guidesn Generally, a row of knittingneedles is associated with' a number of rows of warp thread guides, two, three or four'being' a usual number. Theswinging motion of the warp thread guides takes place laterally across the zone in which they are shogged, and this motion involves various difliculties whereone. is

concerned with high speed operation, and the;

difficulties increase with the number of rows of guides. In effect the swinging motion of the guides may impose a serious limitation of they rate .of operation.

'.An object of the present invention is to operate the'support of a row of knitting needles in such a way that the relative motion between the. thread guides and said needles can be produced in a simple manner imposing no serious limitations as regards rate of operation and nevertheless permitting a useful number of rows of guides, say as many as four such rows, to

be used. 1 1 .In accordance with the invention, warp knitting mechanism has one or more rows of warp thread guides that are shogged and a row of knitting needles on a support that is given a composite motion in which the needles advance endwise towards the warp thread guides and as they advance swinglaterally across the shogging zone of the guides, and in which the needles withdraw endwise, swinging laterally in the return direction. By virtue of the lateral swing of the needles, the thread guides themselves do not require to swing, but merely to shog, inorder that the threads will be lapped round the hooks in the knitting operation.

As usual, the needle stems require to work through thread loops at the fell of the fabric beingknitted; It is this requirement, together withthe position and number of rows of warp guides to be traversed in the swing of the needles,

thatgoverns the motion ofv the needles. Because of the lateralcomponent 'of the needles motion as. they. swing in effect: about the "fell,

the needle stems do not follow the path oftheir hooks but instead become displaced from said, path. In the lateral motion of the hooks,.they-i traverse an adequate zone within which a num-- ber. of rows of thread guides are positionedand are free to shog in timed relationship withhthe. advance and withdrawal ofthe needles.

Otherwise stated, the support ofthe knitting needles is given a composite ,motion inwhich the needles advance and. withdraw througha; line of loops at the fell of the fabric and when:

advancing and withdrawing swing to-and-fro about said line asaxis; Since by virtue of the invention it vis practicable to use warp guides which receive only a,

shagging motion, another object of the inven tion is to make provision whereby a simplified construction of warp-guide bars and theiropcrating mechanism can be adopted; by attain-:1 ing this object,.a source of wear and malady justment, giving a defective product, is elimienated. Q v :The knitting-needle drive may comprise rotary cranks, or the equivalent, which impart .to; the needles their endwise advance and with drawal, and mechanism constraining the-needles; to swing as they advance and retire.v The said; mechanism may be a link-and-lever assembly,"

which is operated by the crank or; equivalent;

Warp-knitting mechanism embodying the,- in-.- vention will nowbe described by way of, exam ple with reference to the accompanying draw-,1 ings, in which: I

Fig. 1 is an elevation of the knitting mecha nism of a warp-knitting machine. Fig. 2 is a. section of a detail, being on the-line 2-.-2 ,oi;. Fig.1. Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of the,- mechanism, the section being approximatelyon the line 3-3 of Fig.1. Figs. 4, 5 and-6 are.

views of theknitting elements andcertain as sociated parts, asv already shown in Fig. 1, .butshowing them in 'differentpositions in the eye;

cle of operations. v.

The knitting elements of the mechanism. shown consist of the followingxa row :of knit-.- ting needles ID; a row oftongues ll, there being one tongue per needle; 2. row ofsinkers l2,

each with aprotuberance it. every needle being arranged topass through the spaceor slot between two adjacent .sinkers; .fourside-by -side; rows of warp-thread guides l4. Threadsfra' arei led through the eyes of the: guides to the: hooks of the needles'lll. and the knitted fabric bis led away in'-the'.plane in which it rcp -n with its pattern wheel.

3 resented by a dot-dash line (see Figs. 1, 4, 5 and 6) Each knitting needle It is upright or at a varying inclination to upright, having a straight tubular stem, which is embedded at-its root in a holding block [5, there being several needles to each block and all ;the blocks being secured sideby-side along a horizontal needle bar 16. The needle drive is imparted to the bar, 126 through a number of bellcrank levers 5?, each having an arm incorporated in the needle bar. The tongues l i are fine rods which slide through the bores of the respective needlestems, being arranged to co-operate at their top ends with the needle hooks and being clamped at their bottom is supported by a yoke guided at the ends of the needle bar It. That is 4 ponents: a first rocker-arm 31 with a stationary pivot 38 between members 39 of the machine frame (shown only in Fig. 3), this rocker-arm carrying the fulcrum 40 of the associated bellcrank lever ll (that is to say, the bellcrank lever has a swinging fulcrum); a second rocker-arm G il-having a stationary pivot gfl'gtsimilarly. to the rock-lever 31); a connecting --'rod 43 pivotally connected at one end to the bellcrank lever 11 and at the other end to a crank 54 on the driving shaft 35,said crank being balanced by a counterweight 45; a control lever 46 whose fulcrum 41 is carried by the second rocker-arm 4|, so that to say, the tongues and their bar are movable up J and down relatively to the needles and their bar, but' not otherwise, the extent-of such movement being sufficient-to close the tongue tips against the needle hooks and towithdraw said tips in.- side the tubular stems; The movement of the tonguesis under the control of links 2ilpivotally connected to the yoke 19. The sinkers I2 are secured to a horizontal bar 2| each end of which is supported 'by a guide rod22 passing through a member 23 of the -machine frame, the sinkers being movable by 'cam means comprising a rotary cam-shaft 24; a cam 25 thereon for each guide rod 22, a tappet 28 on each guide rod 22 to contact the associated cam, and a return spring 2*! on each guide rod- (see Fig. 1). Each sinker is an appropriately shapedblade, and its protuberance i3 engages the fell of the fabric and serves to-restrainthe latest formed row of loops against entrainment by the: needles it! in their ets inrelation to its slide bar against the action. of a return spring 3IA on each of said brackets;

Eachslide bar3l -is guidedat its ends in the frame=-of the machine, and at one end each slide bar cooperates with the cam edge of a rotary pattern wheel 32, there being one such wheel for each slide bar.

frame member 34, close to which the 'associated pattern-wheel32 extends; The slide bar (say at its opposite end) hasxa' return spring (not shown) tomaintainit in operative engagement such that'in the operation of the machine an endwise shogging motion is imparted to therows' of warp-thread guides,*so that they lay their threads across thehooks of the knitting needles and also carry their threads from needle to needle in order that the needles shall become lapped bythethreads and shall knit: and interconnect socalled .pillars of. stitches in the warp threads. The needle bar l6 has its supporting levers ll. either'at opposite ends or at several spaced driving shaft -35 which is geared: through inter-- meshing gearwheels. 36..to-the cam-shaft 24.. Each mechanism comprises the following com- As Fig. 3 shows, oneend of aslide bar 3t has keys'33 slidable-inkeyways in a.

The arrangement is this lever has a swinging fulcrum similarly to the bellcrank lever H; a pair of parallel links 48 one oi which is pivotally connected at opposite ends to the dependent arm 45 of the control lever 46 on the one hand and the dependent arm M or the bellcrank lever I! on the other hand,

and the other of which is pivotally connected at opposite. ends to. the-fulcrums 40. and-'41,; said links forming with said dependent arms of. these. levers a. parallelogram. (see Fig. 1) and therefore servingto maintain a constant angular. relations: ship. between said: levers... The; other armzof. the: control lever .46 is formedasajslider .46? which is; slidable in a. pivotal. controller; 49.- .This cons-:- troller is formedwith aslidewayiii for' the slider; ili and hastrunnions-5l .WhiCh' are :pivoted in: stationary members. 5220f the. machineiframer' (saidmembers 52 being. shownz'onlyinzl ig. 2);: The slideway 513 is. iormedrwithasmall:bosses. 50. between which the sliderAGEslides. The 'mechaenism is so designed that;,in-.each revolution. "01L the crank 46; theknitting needles lilirise (i... en

advance endwise) .throughthe. inter-sinker; spaces-and .fall again,.and.'as the.needles rise and. fall they also swing in onefdirectionzwith their; backs leading and..thenimthe return direction: With thEiIhOOKSIQadiIIQ' 11". I 1 j It is importanttonote that thexcentral .plane or: the sliding arm 46 of? the controlilever 45;: said; plane being representedby the;-line.2fi--2 in Figlll'; must move up-and-down always.throughgthelstae tionary axis. of thepivotal' trunnions; 5i. and must swing-.to-andf-i'ro always aboutsaidaxisp w By virtue.oi the construction of; the control lever 46 and associated components and of its connection through the =parallelogrammic =:linkage( 51,; 8 a and. ii I with the needle bar-.1! 6; some planemoving the needle bar 1 Gli'ncorporating each. bellcrank lever H must also; rise and fall; always; through some predetermined stationary axis x (seen: as a point wheretherthreads.a.-converge Fig. 1 1 and must also swingv to-and-fro 1 always; about said axis X; The plane; last referredrto a plane approximately; containing: the row .fot'i knitting: needles 1G,; and: the stationary axis. Kris. the line of. the lasteknitted row of. lo.ops:.in-.the.:- warpthreadsa atthe'fell of theafabriclz. .Thatis; to say, in the operation of the knitting mechf-i. anisrrrjthe knitting needles rise-.andrfall through; the. stationary line of loops at'X and, iii-rising; and-falling; swing to-and-tr'o about: said line: as axis .5 In. .this composite :motion-bf the I needless theiriiooks move up and. downualonga curved.- path. This path is represented in 'Figs'i'l, 4', 5 and Gby a dot-dash lineawhich is the approximate path cr me outermost limits of the hook of aneedle H3. It will be. noted that the'e'yes of thewarpethreadiguides I 4' 1 are: practically :centred on thispath c; Thus, in thetascent and descent: of. the-needles, their hcoks-.-traverse'the zone' of. the four rows of threadgguides-Hiw w .WithK-reference .now to the. tongues- I,. 03611 link controlling their. motion is -pivotallyi'cone, nected-at an'offset point, namely at-'53,.to the .associatecl connecting1rod 43'. 'Itt-is; by virtue. of this connection that thetongues derive :theirmo.--

the bottom of the needles path of motionfthi being the stage where a row of new loops 'is' drawn down by the hooks through a n'ewly castoff row of' 'l'oops now incorporated in -the fabric.

Figsk 4' arid'5 show the mechanism at'successive stages in the ascent of the needles through the new loops. Fig. 6 shows the mechanism as positioned at the top end of the needles path, the needle hooks then standing clear beyond'the rows of guides M, one or more of which are at this portion of the cycle shogged across the hooks of the needles to an extent determined by their pattern wheels 32. In the descent of the needles, the hooks engage and become lapped with the warp threads a shogged across them and form the next row of stitches.

The knitting mechanism described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings, being an example, can be modified in any of various respects. For instance, the knitting needles may be of any appropriate type; they may be of the latch type or of the bearded type, in which latter event a presser bar would be provided to close the beards.

In the example described, the withdrawal of the hooks is by substantially the same path as their advance; the return path however may be different from the advance path and the form of either path may be modified if so required by other components of the machine.

The sinkers may be used to introduce wefts into the fell of the fabric being knitted. In the example, the sinkers are withdrawn from the needles for a portion of each knitting cycle sufficiently to give freedom of passage not only for the warps a when being. shogged but also for wefts if such are introduced.

In the example described, the warp guide bars do not swing but receive merely a shogging motion. In certain cases however one or more warp guide bars may be swung to a predetermined extent, as demanded by the circumstances.

I claim:

1. Warp knitting mechanism comprising one or more rows of warp thread guides for guiding threads to form loops in a fabric, said loops extending along an axis, means for shogging said one or more rows, a row of knitting needles, a needle support on which said row of knitting needles are mounted, means for giving said needle support a composite motion in which said needles advance endwise towards the thread guides and, as they advance, swing laterally across the shogging zone of the guides, and in which the needles withdraw endwise, swinging laterally in the return direction, said compositemotion-giving. means comprising a control mounted to pivot about a second axis parallel to said first-mentioned axis, a control lever constrained by said pivotal control to' lengthwise movement in relation to said second axis and to swinging movement about said second axis, a second lever incorporated in said needle support, a parallel linkage interconnecting said con- 1 ing of said ti 'ol .lever. and second axis".

i.2.'@Warpknitting mechanism including arow of hooked knitting needles mountedona pivotal support, one or'more' rows of warp-thread guides; lolm'eans for-shogging the one or more rows of warp-thread guides in relation to w the needle hooks,: and link-and-lever mechanism forimov--- ingthe needles to knit warp threads led to their hooks by said guides into rows of stitches in succession, said link-'and-lever mechanism being designed to advance and withdrawthe needles-endwise to-and from said guides through a row of stitches and to swing the needles about said row of stitches as axis so that the hooks traverse the zone of said one or more rows of guides and receive therefrom the warp threads and said link-and-lever mechanism including parallel links that connect said pivotal support with a control device and means constraining said device to a composite motion consisting of endwise movement through a stationary line and swinging movement about said line as axis.

3. Warp knitting mechanism including a row of hooked knitting needles having straight tubular stems, one or more rows of warp-thread guides, means for shogging the one or more rows of warp-thread guides in relation to the needle hooks, a row of tongues individually operating through said stems like latches to cast-off stitches from the needles, a rotary member, a connecting rod extending from said rotary member and having a connection with the needles, said rod serving to operate the needles, a linkage from said connecting rod to said row of tongues for moving them in timed relation to the needles, and link-and-lever mechanism connected to said row of needles and said connecting rod for moving the needles to knit warp threads led to their hooks by said guides into rows of stitches in succession, said link-and-lever mechanism being designed to advance and withdraw the needles endwise to and from said guides through a row of stitches and to swing the needles about said row of stitches as axis so that the hooks traverse the zone of said one or more rows of guides and receive therefrom the warp threads.

4. A warp knitting machine comprising a needle bar, a row of knitting needles on said bar, said needles being adapted to receive a line of loops on a fabric to be knitted by the machine, warp thread guides for leading warp threads engageable by said needles to said line of loops, a rotary shaft, connecting means between said shaft and bar for giving the needles an endwise movement to and from said guides, and link-and-lever mechanism connected with said bar to superpose on said movement a pivotal movement of the row of needles about said line, said link-and-lever mechanism comprising a pivotal control mounted to oscillate about an axis parallel to said line, a slider constrained by said control to endwise movement combined with pivotal movement about said axis, and a parallel linkage inter-connecting said slider and said needle bar.

5. Warp knitting mechanism having a row of knitting needles for knitting a fabric, the knitting needles having straight tubular stems, a row of tongues individually operating through said 7 stems like latches to cast-01f stitches from the lever, a pairsof rocker: arm'scarrying the fulcrums of said'two -leve'rsJ andwmeans for imparting to: saidsecond. lever .a swinging motionsuch that the lateral swingneedles is about said first-mentioned needles, a needle support on which said row ofknitting needles are mounted, means for giving said support a composite motion, said means comprising a rotary shaft, a connection between said shaft anclsaid needle support for transmite ting thereto a rocking motion in which the needles advance and withdraw through the line of loops last-knitted into the fabric, a pivotal control and a link-and-lever mechanism under the constraint of said control and connected to said needle support so as to superpose on said rocking motion another motion in which the needles, when advancing and withdrawing, swing to-and-fro about said line as axis, a tongue support on which said row of tongues are mounted and which is slidably constrained by said needle support so as to take part in the composite motion thereof,.and a linkage from the connection between the rotary shaft and needle support to the tongue support for moving said row of tongues in timed relation to the needles.

ROBERT. STEWART ERSKINE HANNAY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Young d. Oct. '7, 1947 

